Month-The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law passed by Congress that facilitates lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by American victims and families of victims injured or killed in foreign terrorist attacks, particularly in Israel and the West Bank.
The unanimous decision by all nine justices overturned a lower court ruling that the 2019 Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act violated the PA and PLO’s constitutional due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the opinion, said the jurisdictional provisions in the 2019 law are consistent with the Fifth Amendment’s due process guarantees.
“The federal government may craft a targeted jurisdictional statute that, as part of a broader foreign policy program, provides a proper forum for Americans injured or killed in terrorist acts to seek redress,” Roberts wrote, referencing the 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act.
U.S. Court Affirms Jurisdiction in Terror Cases Involving PA and PLO
The case was brought forward by the U.S. government and several American families, some of whom had previously secured a $655 million civil judgment in 2015 holding the PA and PLO responsible for a series of shootings and bombings near Jerusalem between 2002 and 2004.
The plaintiffs also include relatives of Ari Fuld, a Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker in 2018.
The lawsuits take place against the backdrop of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence, which has added urgency and complexity to legal proceedings in the U.S.
Supreme Court Reverses Lower Rulings on PA, PLO Terrorism Liability
For years, American courts have debated whether they have jurisdiction to hear such cases involving actions committed outside U.S. borders by the PA and PLO.
Under the 2019 law, the PA and PLO are considered to have consented to U.S. jurisdiction if they engage in certain activities in the U.S. or make payments to individuals who committed attacks against Americans.
In 2022, Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court in New York ruled that this provision violated the constitutional due process rights of the PA and PLO. That decision was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Biden administration appealed the ruling, continuing legal efforts originally launched under President Donald Trump. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in April 2024 and has now delivered its final ruling.
